Welcoming of the Blight
Kuutarth leaned forward to peer into the crevice. He was sure he could hear the Stamping of heavy metal clanging and monotonous chanting. Thick smog made the ground within the crevice impossible to make out. Still, the noises bellowed through the Ulthwe Palace. Hoisting his Reaper Launcher over the precipice, Kuutarth aimed blindly into the blackness. Within seconds a sharp, metallic claw had knocked the Reaper Launcher from his hands and into the thick mist below. Kuutarth immediately became aware of the Sulphuric, Pestilent smell that rose up at the same time as the claw. It was almost a familiar one. He and his Dark Reaper kin had faced this disgusting smell previously. “The Phlegm Brethren....” Kuutarth muttered to himself guiding his hand towards the skies and pointing at the squad of seven pustulent Raptors preparing to make a second attempt at the Dark Reaper Exarch that had evaded their grasp before. “Leave none of these maggots uninfected..... FOR NURGLE!!” Kuutarth could overhear Krytos the Raptor Champion inspiring his men from such close proximity. As the Brethren began to make their second swoop on the Dark Reapers, an unarmed Kuutarth bravely led his men, inspiring them to fight harder than they ever had for their Craftworld. A lucky Plasma Gun shot immediately destroyed one of the Dark Reapers leaving giblets of singed Eldar over the armour of the rest of his comrades. Undeterred by the horrors they had witnessed, Kuutarth nonchalantly stepped over the strips of his fallen friend and frantically picked up his Reaper Launcher and began a tirade of fire into the heart of the feared Raptors of Nurgle. The Air to Ground fight lasted what seemed an eternity with the Dark Reapers falling steadily one by one and the Raptors seemingly invincible and implausible in their manoeuvrability (Unlike how the typical Nurglesque warrior is depicted) These monsters were fast, agile and had devastingly infectious rusted claws and weapons that burbled with poxes and blights. Kuutarth watched as his squadron was decimated one after another. He watched as his fellow Dark Reaper’s armour fizzled until all he could see was froth that once was flesh and bone. By this time, only Kuutarth and 2 of his Reapers were left standing. The Phlegm Brethren had seemingly retreated, “...obviously through a lengthy dog fight that they hadn’t banked on and their Jet Pack fuel supply was probably running low” thought Kuutarth to himself. “A victory for Ulthwe!” “ A VIC...” No sooner had he opened his mouth than cacophonous clanging could be heard at the huge doors of the Palace. Kuutarth’s heart sank. The doors were flung off their hinges and silhouetted in the archway were two huge frames. One was a Daemonic Machine, staggering purposefully towards them, seemingly part-sentient. “Progerianicus!” The second silhouetted frame roared “Tear them limb from limb in the name of Grandfather Nurgle.” The Daemon Prince looked on at his minion jovially as the Dark Reapers fought bravely, if not foolishly. Mercilessly, Progerianicus fired his Battle Cannon towards the three remaining Eldar, blowing one to small pieces and another’s arms clean off. The Eldar Reaper screamed in agony as his eyes shot back behind him to follow the sight of his arms hurtling into the abyss. Kuutarth decided to make a final stand for all of Ulthwe. He surged forward with Reaper Launcher clasped tight. Leaping onto one of the six legs of the Grand Defiler Kuutarth fired his Reaper Launcher into the cracks that appeared on the Marred One. The Daemon Engine gave a Mechanical Hissing as if something had broken inside the Defiler. Kuutarth felt a sharp sensation and then a warm one sprawl across the back of his head. Reaching his hand round to his cranium he realised what was happening. He groggily spun round to be met with a single partially decomposed eye and gargantuan antler ominously standing overhead “Puny one, Nurgle will have no desire for lifeless test subjects, Let each and every World in this Galaxy know that I, Buruli the Foetid One shall not rest until the immaculate infection, I have created!” And with that Buruli picked Kuutarth up in his massive hand by his head and twisted it off and devoured every part of it like eating a single grape. Back to Nurgle